Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a rail vehicle, in particular a locomotive, with a vehicle body which is supported in a sprung fashion on bogies that can travel along running rails, and a snow plow which has two blade plates that run to a point in a plow shape and have a C-shaped profile, and with a plow blade that is arranged in a vertically adjustable fashion behind the blade plates in the direction of travel, and whose projecting portion, which projects downward beyond a lower edge of the blade plates, is adjustable. The blade plates rest with their lower edge on a base plate, which forms a cutting edge that protrudes from the lower edge in the direction of travel.
It is known for rail vehicles, in particular locomotives, to be fitted with snow plows, in order to clear snow of different thickness from the route up to a maximum height of 800 mm to 1000 mm above the running rails at running speeds of over 100 km/h, where possible up to 160 km/h, without risk of derailment.
From patent publication EP 1 070 792 B1 a rail vehicle is known, in particular a locomotive with a supporting frame and a track cleaner. The track cleaner has two C-shaped profiled plow blades which run to a point and are arranged in a plow shape. The plow blades are fastened to the supporting frame by way of brackets, the deformations of which are kept essentially parallel to the plane of the supporting frame in the event of an impact load. In a collision this thereby reduces firstly the risk of damage to the supporting frame and secondly the risk of a derailment due to a track cleaner being bent downward or being ruptured.
The patent publication JP 10252030 A discloses a rail vehicle for snow clearance, comprising a multiple plow device with a frame which is connected to the rail vehicle by way of a shaft with a vertical axis of rotation, as well as a lower plow device which is supported by a lifting device. The lifting device is connected to the frame behind the multiple plow device. The plow blades of the multiple plow device can, in order to clear the snow above the tops of the rails, be brought into a V-shaped position, a straight position or a reverse V-shaped position. A V-shaped lower plow of the lower snow plow device clears the snow below the tops of the rails between two running rails. The lower plow has a guide surface for conveying snow away in a horizontal direction, which stops snow from falling down between the running rails.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,688,021 B2 shows a locomotive with a snow plow and a device for improved snow clearance, which further removes snow left behind by the snow plow. As a result, traction and control of the locomotive are improved. For each running rail the device comprises a clearance flap which projects downward beyond the bottom edge of the snow plow. The clearance flaps loosen and remove residual snow, as well as other debris, left by the snow plow. The device handily removes snow while being constructed of the thinnest material possible.
Known from U.S. Pat. No. 51,829 A is a snow plow for rail vehicles for removing snow and ice from the running rails and from the track bed. The snow plow comprises a vertically and laterally self-adjustable pusher, two movable side wings for removing snow and ice and a spring arm for maintaining a distance between pusher and running rails, in order not to impede the operation of the snow plow because of obstacles.
Published patent application DE 10 2009 019 576 A1 shows a swept-back snow plow with two lateral surfaces for a rail vehicle. In order to configure this kind of snow plow in a fluidically favorable manner, perforations are present in the lateral surfaces. The perforations are provided with guide vanes which are arranged and embodied such that the air flow is deflected downward.
Published patent application DE 199 33 914 A1 discloses a track cleaner for a rail vehicle, which consists of one or more plow blades which are fastened to the supporting frame of the rail vehicle with a bracket. The problem when fastening the track cleaner, which extends over the entire width of the rail vehicle, is that fastening points which are far apart need to be provided, and require a high level of manufacturing precision and a great deal of effort during installation. To create a track cleaner which is easy to manufacture and to mount, a bracket is proposed for the track cleaner which consists of a torsion-resistant support structure which is fastened by its upper end centrally to the buffer beam and by its lower end to the plow blade.
From published patent application DE 199 33 915 A1 a track cleaner for a rail vehicle is known which consists of one or more plow blades which are fastened to the supporting frame of the rail vehicle with a bracket. To lessen the risk of the track cleaner buckling downward in a collision with an obstacle and causing the rail vehicle to derail, and in the event of a deformation of the bracket of the track cleaner to prevent the supporting frame from also being deformed, it is proposed to configure the bracket such that, in a collision with an obstacle, energy is absorbed by energy dissipation elements arranged in the bracket and the track cleaner is kept essentially parallel to the plane of the supporting frame.
When fastening a snow plow to the underframe of the rail vehicle there is a conflict of objectives regarding the free gap between a lower edge of the snow plow and an upper edge of the running rails. On the one hand, the gap height should maintain at least a safety distance resulting from relevant restriction calculations, taking account of pitching and lifting movements of the vehicle body, to prevent the snow plow from striking the running rails. On the other hand the calculated safety distance may prove to be so large, for example larger than 200 mm, that obstacles such as wooden sleepers pass through the gap and cannot be cleared away by the snow plow, and components arranged behind the snow plow, such as antennas, sanding equipment or the like, are inadequately protected.